Etude historique du Saivasiddhanta au Tamil Nadu

Elément du projet ’Vers une Histoire du Saivasiddhanta’

Objectives

To write a comprehensive history of Saiva-Siddhanta which has played a major role in the religio-philosophical sphere of Tamil Nadu for over more than a millennium. (Richard H. Davis, Ritual in an Oscillating Universe : Worshipping Siva in Medieval India ; Hélène Brünner, L’importance de la littérature âgamique pour l’étude des religions vivantes de l’Inde, Indologica Taurinensia, vol. III-IV (1975-76)

This comprehensive study proposes to trace the historical evolution of the doctrines and the system of rituals dating back to : 1) the canonical texts known as Agama 2) the theological treatises dealing with two broad and complimentary aspects of the system-philosophical knowledge and religious practices composed at different periods (from the 8th century) for systematising the Agama, 3) the Tamil philosophical texts (dating from the 12th century) known as the Meykantacattiram.

Keywords : Saivism, Saivasiddhanta, Agama, Siddhanta, Cittantam, History of Religion, History of Saivism, Sivajnanabodha, Meykantar

Materials and Methods

The invaluable manuscript resources at the IFP considered as one of the richest collections in the world on Saivasiddhanta will constitute the basic material support for this project. It is therefore a by-product of the Cataloguing and Preservation project work on the Manuscripts.

This comprehensive historical study on Saiva-Siddhanta will focus on : 1) the course of evolution of the Saiva ritual system as elaborated in the Agama-s and the ritual manuals ; 2) the evolution and development of the philosophical doctrines in the Agama-s and the philosophical treatises ; 3) the influence of these on the Saivasiddhanta system of Tamil Nadu from the 12th century to the present day ; 4) the epigraphical material which is amongst the richest and the most valuable sources for tracing the historical development from the 8th to the 16th century.

Funding

• French Institute of Pondicherry

Team

• Dr. T. Ganesan, Researcher, Head of the Project.
• S. Sambandhan, manuscriptologist and expert of Saiva Rituals.

Main Outputs

Books

• GANESAN T., 2006. varu.napaddhati.h varu.n "sivaviraciaa nigamaj naanade" sikaviracitavilocanaakhya - vyaakhyaasahitaa (diik.saaprakara.nam), critically edited with a detailed introduction in Tamil and English, pub. Sri Aghorasivacharya Trust, Chennai.

• GANESAN T., 2006. Siddhaantaprakaa"sikaa of Sarvaatma"sambhu with introduction and English translation, pub. The Shaiva Bharati Shodha Pratishtanam, Jangamwadi Math, Varanasi.

• GOODALL D., ROUT N., SATYANARAYANAN R., SARMA S.A.S., GANESAN T., & SAMBANDASIVACHARYA S., 2005. The Pa ncaavara.nastava of Aghora"sivaacaarya : A twelfth century south indian prescription for the visualisation of Sadaa"siva and his retinue, an annotated critical edition, eds. Collection Indologie, 102. Pondicherry : IFP/EFEO.

Articles

• GANESAN T., 2007. Analyses of the Svaayambhuvaagama and the Vijayaagama In Mélanges tantriques à la mémoire d’Hélène Brunner. Tantric Studies in Memory of Hélène Brunner, edited by Dominic Goodall & André Padoux, collection Indologié, no. 106, IFP/EFEO.

• GANESAN T., 2006. "Sriika.n.tha’s Vi"si.s.t"sivaadvaita : Influence of "Saivaagama-s on Vedaanta, In The Journal of Ganganatha Jha Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Allahabad, vol. LXII (1-4), January-December.

• GANESAN T., 2006. Caivaakama"nkaL kuuRum tirukkooyil uRcava"nkaL (Tamil), Temple Festivals described in the Saivagamas, In Tiruvi.taimarutuur AruLmiku makaali"nkacuvaamit tirukooyil tirukku.tanaNNiiraa.t.tup peruvizhaa malar, (Special issue brought out on the occasion of the Kumbhabhishekam of the Mahalingasvami Temple, Tiruvidaimarudur, Thanjavur District) published by the Tiruvavaduthurai Adheenam, Tiruvavatuthurai, 2006 : pp.93-102.

• GANESAN T., 2006. Saivism : Lived and depicted by Maa.nikkavaacakar In Maa.nikkavaacakar aayvu maalai, (eds). Ta.ko. Paramasivam, pa. Nallanayaki, ko. pa. Nallasivam, Maa.nikkavaacakar Ilakkiya aayvu maanaa.du, Varanasi, 2006, pp. 612-17.

• GANESAN T., 2005. Approaching the Agama-s : A Brief Survey of their Contents In L.N.Bhatt, K.Hayavadana Puranik and Haripriya Rangarajan (eds.) Glimpses of the National Seminar on Agamas : Agamasushama, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupathi Series, 115, Tirupathi : Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, pp. 140-62.

• GANESAN T., 2005. Sundarar and Vaidika Practices In Sundarar aayvu Maalai, (eds). Ta. ko. Paramasivam, pa. Nallanayaki, ko. pa. Nallasivam, Sundarar Ilakkiyaaayvu maanaa.du, Varanasi, pp.110-16.